McCarthy O’Connor

What McCarthy O’Connor does

McCarthy O'Connor, LLC is a woman-owned professional services firm founded in 2011 by Karen (McCarthy) O'Connor and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The firm operates as an owner's representative and tenant's representative, delivering project management consulting for capital improvement and tenant improvement projects from inception through occupancy. Service delivery is organized around four integrated modules — Project Administration (team selection, contracts, documentation, move coordination, close-out), Quality Management (design validation, constructability reviews, punchlist resolution), Cost Management (budget development, value engineering, cost control, change order evaluation), and Schedule Management (CPM review, progress monitoring, remediation) — plus a higher-level Program Management offering for multi-project portfolios.

The firm's revenue model is professional services fees on project-based engagements; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. Go-to-market is direct, relationship-driven engagement with enterprise and public-sector decision-makers in the Southwest US, supported by detailed case studies on its website rather than paid marketing channels. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range and the firm operates from a single Scottsdale office.

The customer base skews toward municipal owners of cultural and civic venues and large corporate tenants. Named engagements include the $68M Tempe Center for the Arts, $20M Phoenix Convention Center refurbishment, $26.5M Historic Balboa Theatre rehabilitation in San Diego, $16.6M Herberger Theater Center renovation, and a 176,000-square-foot Bank of America corporate relocation. The firm also markets capabilities in medical office and higher education capital projects, though those segments appear less mature in the disclosed track record. There are no disclosed funding rounds, investors, partnerships, AI/ML capabilities, or proprietary technology assets; the business is a principal-led consulting practice whose value is anchored in the founder's individual reputation and project references.

Name

McCarthy O’Connor

Legal name

McCarthy O'Connor, LLC

Website

https://mccarthy-oconnor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

McCarthy O'Connor is a woman-owned project management consulting firm providing owner's and tenant's representative services for capital and tenant improvement projects across the Southwest US, serving municipal, cultural, and corporate clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Project Management Consulting Services: Professional services fees for owner's representative and tenant representative services. Services span from project inception through completion and occupancy, covering project team selection, contract negotiations, design oversight, construction administration, and project close-out.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

McCarthy O'Connor provides professional project management consulting as Owner and Tenant Representative for capital and tenant improvement projects. Engagements span project inception through completion and occupancy, covering team selection, contract negotiations, design oversight, construction administration, and project close-out across performing arts centers, convention centers, corporate offices, financial institutions, and higher education facilities.

Product overview

McCarthy O'Connor is a professional services firm offering project management and program management services for capital and tenant improvement projects. Their core offering consists of comprehensive project management consulting as Owner/Tenant Representative, supported by four integrated service modules: Project Administration (team selection, contracts, documentation), Quality Management (design validation, constructability reviews, construction observation), Cost Management (budget development, value engineering, cost control), and Schedule Management (schedule development, CPM review, progress monitoring). The firm specializes in managing complex projects including performing arts centers, convention centers, commercial office, financial institutions, and higher education facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project Management Services Professional project management services for capital and tenant improvement projects, providing leadership, quality control, and technical expertise as owner or tenant representative from inception through completion and occupancy. Targeted at government entities, financial institutions, cultural organizations, and corporate clients undertaking complex capital projects.
• Program Management Services Comprehensive program management services for scalable project portfolios across multiple project types, budgets, and timelines, providing coordinated oversight beyond any single engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced square footage by 30% for Bank of America while providing more efficient space and additional conference space
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Heery International: Long-established owner's representative / construction management firm (now part of CBRE) specializing in civic, cultural, and public-sector capital projects such as museums, libraries, and performing arts venues - directly analogous to McCarthy O'Connor's core practice.
• Kitchell CEM: Specialty construction/project management firm active in the Southwest. Karen O'Connor previously served as Sr. Project Manager/Owner's Representative at Kitchell, and the firm serves many of the same Arizona public-sector and cultural clients, making it a directly comparable owner's-rep peer.
• Anser Advisory: Independent owner's-representation and program management consultancy serving public agencies and institutional clients on capital programs. Direct comparability around stakeholder-driven, owner-aligned PM delivery.
• Brailsford & Dunlavey: Specialty owner's-representation and program management firm focused on public agencies, higher education, and cultural institutions. Highly comparable niche focus on complex stakeholder-driven capital programs.
• PMA Consultants: Independent program, project, and construction management consultancy. Overlaps with McCarthy O'Connor's owner-rep and cost/schedule management services on public-sector and institutional engagements.

Regional players

• Stiles Construction: Regional construction management and owner's-representation firm with a strong Southeast US footprint. Comparable boutique owner's-rep model but operating in a different geographic region than McCarthy O'Connor.

Broad incumbents

• Gilbane Building Company (Advisory Services): National construction and program management firm offering owner's-rep and program management services to civic and institutional clients across the U.S., competing for the same municipal and cultural capital mandates.
• JLL (Project & Development Services): Global real estate services firm with a major project and development services division acting as owner's representative and tenant rep for corporate and institutional clients. Overlaps directly with McCarthy O'Connor's tenant-representation and capital-project management offerings.
• Cushman & Wakefield (Project & Development Services): Global commercial real estate services platform with a PDS practice delivering owner's representation, program management, and tenant coordination for similar corporate and institutional clients as McCarthy O'Connor.
• CBRE (Project Management): Global real estate services firm offering tenant representation, project management, and owner's representative services. CBRE is the firm where Karen O'Connor performed the original Bank of America tenant-rep engagement and competes directly for the same large-scale institutional mandates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about McCarthy O’Connor